Engine planning 101

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dartfreak75

dartfreak75

Restore it, Dont part it!
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Ok guys lm starting from the beginning with a clean slate. When you are planning a engine build what order of operation do you go in? I have a couple theories in mind but I want your advice and opinions. So I'm gonna start with the obvious the intended purpose of the car so let me start there.
The engine is gonna be used as a street car pump gas I want something that will be a reliable street car not over heat in traffic but still powerful enough to hang with the cool kids. Lol this is not intended to be a combo thread but just the order of operation in planning a build. I have an idea of what I'm gonna do but I'm not gonna share that quite yet. Thanks for your help and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
j par said:
Make a plan and stick to it.
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Very true how do you come up with that plan? That is what I'm asking for example I'm planning out all the little things to get my compression where I want it. Pistons head gaskets etc. But then you have the valve to piston clearance issue. Everything I read is how to check the clearance after the engine is already completed how can plan for that before you buy the parts? Or assemble the engine? I dont want to spend 1k or more just to find out my valves dont clear my pistons have to start making adjustments.
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
4 Speed car or automatic? What gear? Street Cruiser or Street racer?

What heads and what do they flow?
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This is not intended to be for any particular build. I'm just asking how do you form a plan? So if you are building a new engine for a car how do you formulate your plan?
 
Don't buy any parts at all until you have the specifics decided on, have done your homework, allowed a little time to pass even, done any revisions, and are 100% sure its the combo you want to assemble. Sounds simple, and just common sense. But I did all the above, but had to source a core engine, and naively assumed it wouldn't be a problem, and in a fit of impatient excitedness started buying big ticket parts, only to not be able find a core short block. So I revised and went another route, and didnt do too bad, but in hindsight I would definitely have chosen different big ticket parts to better compliment what I ended up with for a short block.
 
12many said:
Don't buy any parts at all until you have the specifics decided on, have done your homework, allowed a little time to pass even, done any revisions, and are 100% sure its the combo you want to assemble. Sounds simple, and just common sense. But I did all the above, but had to source a core engine, and naively assumed it wouldn't be a problem, and in a fit of impatient excitedness started buying big ticket parts, only to not be able find a core short block. So I revised and went another route, and didnt do too bad, but in hindsight I would definitely have chosen different big ticket parts to better compliment what I ended up with for a short block.
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That is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I have already messed up once and I'm starting over. This time around I want to get it right.
 
I don't know but the first question in "the plan" is

1....How much money do I have?
 
You need money.
You need a good block.
Have it sonic and magnafluxed.
Do any oiling system mods now before all the machine work.
If your going to bore it you need the pistons your going to use so they can be fitted.
If your going with new caps or main studs you will have to align bore it.
Check your deck height in case it needs decked.
Keep it clean.

adding to this.
Keep a notebook.
List the parts you already have.
List the parts you know you still need.
Keep track of prices and part numbers.
 
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So what started all this is I'm working on my plan and I'm trying to work out any issues before I start buying anything. That way when I drop the block off I can tell the machinist exactly what I want and know what I'm getting. So I started with the intended purpose of the car
1)Street car
This car is has a an automatic transmission 999 torqueflite and 2.76 highway gears
So I know I want to run on pump gas so that is where the questions start. What scr/dcr can you effectively run on pump gas? There seems to be alot of opinion with no definite answer.
Moving on...
I'm reading my book (Larry Sheppard how to hot rod a small block mopar) and imo this is the worst book ever written. It is so jumbled with little factoids but no explanation or definition. So anyway I'm reading about valve to piston clearance and it tells you how to check it but again in order to do that you have to already have the engine assembled. So how can you plan for pistons and cams without knowing this information beforehand?
 
I don't think there's any perfect plan when you're trying to puzzle something together on a budget.
one very last time I'm going to give you all the wisdom of all the money I've spent on Mopars and say find a very reputable yard even if it's not very close and some of the investment is the drive back and forth and get a low mile 360 Magnum with at least a mileage count when it was taken out of the vehicle and if not a full 8 cylinder compression test. To go along with it 6 month warranty. And I say this and if not even done the swap before. But all in for a beginning up project I can't imagine anything cheaper with more dependability.
OR, what I did was just bought a 360 la block from my engine Rebuilder. That way I already knew the block was good. It really doesn't matter what year that badly I think mine was like an 87 truck or something.
 
dartfreak75 said:
I'm reading my book (Larry Sheppard how to hot rod a small block mopar) and imo this is the worst book ever written. It is so jumbled with little factoids but no explanation or definition.
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I bought that book online, if I'd have been able to thumb through it at a book store I would have tossed it back on the shelf. Borderline worthless IMO, great for dipping your toes in the water kind of involvement if someone wants a thrown together souped up mopar, I'd venture to say just about any other book out there would be better! I like Chryslers Mopar Performance engine books, the old Larry Sheib book, and many by David Vizard. Can never go wrong with those
 
j par said:
I don't think there's any perfect plan when you're trying to puzzle something together on a budget.
one very last time I'm going to give you all the wisdom of all the money I've spent on Mopars and say find a very reputable yard even if it's not very close and some of the investment is the drive back and forth and get a low mile 360 Magnum with at least a mileage count when it was taken out of the vehicle and if not a full 8 cylinder compression test. To go along with it 6 month warranty. And I say this and if not even done the swap before. But all in for a beginning up project I can't imagine anything cheaper with more dependability.
OR, what I did was just bought a 360 la block from my engine Rebuilder. That way I already knew the block was good. It really doesn't matter what year that badly I think mine was like an 87 truck or something.
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With all due respect your missing the point. I'm not asking what you would do on budget or anything like that. Like I said in the OP starting with a clean slate. How do you plan an engine build? This all about the learning process not what I should do on my budget. But what a reputable engine builder thought process is when planning a build. I have a plan with my engine that is not what this thread is about. I want to know what was your thought process and how did you go about planning your 408 build?
 
12many said:
I bought that book online, if I'd have been able to thumb through it at a book store I would have tossed it back on the shelf. Borderline worthless IMO, great for dipping your toes in the water kind of involvement if someone wants a thrown together souped up mopar, I'd venture to say just about any other book out there would be better! I like Chryslers Mopar Performance engine books, the old Larry Sheib book, and many by David Vizard. Can never go wrong with those
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I'm glad I'm not the only one with that opinion! Its horrible it gives me headaches just trying to piece all the scatteredness together. The best thing about that book is the last 10 pages it has a pretty cool combo list and it's got 7 pages worth of casting numbers I have used that alot.
 
451Cuda said:
The great thing about that simple type of build is you can just drive the car with the N/A engine until you're ready to turbo it. Just get pistons that can handle boost.
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Dont have to have a "turbo friendly" cam also?
 
dartfreak75 said:
Not much lol
I want to keep it under a grand.
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Then you better find a good 360/ 5.9 magnum and do a basic rebuild. You can't barely rebuild a set of heads for half that anymore, and that is if you "know" the valve guy and there's nothing more than a basic valve job needed
 
67Dart273 said:
Then you better find a good 360/ 5.9 magnum and do a basic rebuild. You can't barely rebuild a set of heads for half that anymore, and that is if you "know" the valve guy and there's nothing more than a basic valve job needed
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Once again this isn't about my budget or anything this a hypothetical question. From start to finish what are the steps of formulating a plan?
 
SLOPAR72 said:
My planning would be different for each engine family.

What you got in mind?

JW
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Well my particular build that I have currently in mind is a 318. For a street car I want something that will be reliable and not over heat run on pump gas.
 
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